Murflynn
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Posts posted by Murflynn
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1 hour ago, MtB said:
Re-balancing the fee structure might be a better way forward. Base license fees on boat value, like Council Tax on houses perhaps.
it wouldn't work Mike.
Council Tax is based on the price or value assessed on a certain date in the past - and as Zoopla shows, the value of a home is quite easy to get (roughly) right, especially where 90% of homes are on a street of similar homes. Unless folk all buy boats at an advertised or registered price there is no way that I can think of to assess the value of a boat unless you employ an army of boat surveyor/valuers (who would never get permission to access to the inside of most boats). Few boats (even new ones) are sold at a fixed price, unlike cars (well, that is before the onset of on-line car dealers anyqay)
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On 13/10/2021 at 20:57, manxmike said:
To be fair, the "just in case" signs are a bit like insurance - we pay out eye watering amounts each year hoping we never need it, and probably well aware that if we do need it the insurance company will find at least six very good reasons why a) they don't need to pay out and b) six very good reasons to increase your premium next year.
(b) only applies if you believe in resurrection.
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57 minutes ago, wandering snail said:
It's a response to the EA Navigation Charges Consultation which was so convoluted that it attracted hardly any responses. The EA are going ahead with what they want to do anyway, and yes, I know this is always what happens, but this group wants to try to get a much wider boater's perspective.
well it would be nice if you could just give us a linky so we can judge the impact of the document for ourselves, convoluted or not ...................
I would also comment that limiting the questionnaire to 2021 excludes me because personal issues kept me shore-bound until September and I have only managed short day trips since then. I would comment that having an electrically powered boat leaves me vulnerable to finding that hook-up moorings at locks are already occupied or out of order because the "booking system" is useless mainly because IMHO only one of the lockies with hook-up facilities ever replies to his phone, and the remainder never call back despite inviting the caller to leave a message. ............. oh. and the commitment that I understand was given by the EA to the Electric Boat Association to treat electrically powered boats as a priority has not been honoured. In one case I found a plastic gin palace on the hook-up, and the owner told me he plans and books his trips a year in advance and always uses the hook-up points so he can do the laundry and watch telly without worrying about the state of his probably huge battery bank. Not very helpful for an electric boater who plans his trips based on the forecast of sunny weather in the hope that the solar panels will contribute to the cruising range.
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19 minutes ago, PeterScott said:
very bad design, deliberately introducing tripping hazards where you are s'posed to put your size nines. obvs no elfinsafety review was undertaken.
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I've travelled on the M4 a few times recently and was most disappointed not to see that illuminated sign in the central reservation that used to read "THIS SIGN IS NOT IN USE".
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1 hour ago, Arthur Marshall said:
The number of boats I've seen moored opposite winding holes recently indicate that the signs are in fact needed these days. I spent an entire afternoon (feeling guilitily like a jobsworth) a few years ago pointing out to both hire and private boats that they were mooring in the one at Rode Heath before giving up and sticking a notice on the towpath fence to point it out. I was greatly relieved next time I went to see CRT had both put a sign up and taken the relevant rings out. Mind you, people still try and moor there. Same on the lower Macc. Sometimes, signs do perform a useful purpose, especially when the cut is filling up with ignorant people.
gently put your bow snubber into the side of the offending moored boat, give it full left lock and full throttle.
when/if they complain you have an opportunity to edumicaite the ignorant.
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Lots of good advice, but every single-hander faces one problem when going up in some of the deep locks - how do you get off the boat and onto the lock side to make your lines fast if the lockie is not on duty? On my small cruiser I often moor on the lock landing, set the lock and then bow-haul the boat in. In some locks the way is blocked by infrastructure but I usually manage.
The solution is to carefully plan every move before entering the lock.
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Calor Gas proudly claim they will collect any surplus cylinders from your home to alleviate the shortage.
I am in the process of downsizing and had two 15kg butane bottles.
Rang the local depot ........ " oo, err, no mate, we can't do it for at least a month, we're so busy "
Local hardware store had no problem.
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11 hours ago, enigmatic said:
Makes an interesting variation on the usual trad/semi/cruiser stern debate, but not sure fellow canal users would appreciate the wake
another narrow-minded comment.
zip it, why don't you?
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The most significant point is surely that the temperature of anything that is controlled by the temperature of the water and therefore of the baseplate is very steady and predicable whilst any other solution inside or outside the cabin will need constant monitoring to keep it cool or to stop it from freezing.
Go for it!
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17 hours ago, nicknorman said:
Following on from the justly deserved ribbing for the quality of my metalwork, I finally got around to getting a 3D printer and made up bezels for the OLED displays for both the alternator controller (0.96”) and the BMS (1.3”). Here is the 1.3” one. Down to the boat tomorrow to install them.
looks like some gadget from a 1950's sci-fi movie - or Thunderbirds perhaps.
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16 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:
The advisory for hull-fittings (vents, drain pipes etc) is actually 10" (250mm) it is only the weed hatch that is allowed to be 6" (150mm) as it has a sealed lid.
Again, from the BSS :
To reduce the risk of your boat sinking if it keels over or is excessively weighed down, it's a good idea for privately owned boats to only have openings which are at a height of at least 250mm (10ins) above the waterline. Where openings are necessary below this level this risk can be reduced by ensuring that these openings are permanently and securely connected to ducts or pipes, which are watertight up to that level.
Self-draining cockpits may not be able to meet the 250mm (10ins) recommendation but, for privately owned boats, it's a good idea to stop water getting into other parts of the hull by incorporating non-return valves in the drains and/or having bulkheads or cills up to a height of 150mm (6ins).
when I did my RCD in 2008 the requirement for "downflooding" was 250mm when the boat was listing (tilted to one side) with the maximum allowable number of persons on board (which should be stated on the builder's plate) standing on the gunwale while hanging onto the roof rail. On my widebeam with 12 persons on board the engine vents were just within specification.
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14 hours ago, blackrose said:
As Keith says, if you're having to ask how to do it you shouldn't be doing it yourself and anyone foolish enough to advise you how to do it on an internet forum should take note too. Don't mess around with mains electrical installations unless you know what you're doing.
exackerly - and what's more, don't ask the domestic electrician you found on Google. Best you ask the marina or others who are hooked up for the name of a competent boat electrician.
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AFAIK the issue isn't just about whether boats can moor there, it's about whether they can set up a semi-permanent camp, using all the available bank-side, and preventing others from stopping for an hour or a day or two.
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23 hours ago, peterboat said:
The problem is if we won't change a lot of us won't be here in 2050! 😌
I won't be here in 2050 - unless I'm in a very old people's home - regardless of whether people change or not.
Having said that, for the past 6 years I have been cruising the Thames with a little leccy boat of my own design and now view the diesel powered monsters as anachronisms.
Why visit the Thames where there is peace and quiet to enjoy at your leisure and then spoil it all by racing from one lock to another in convoys of white plastic 2- or 3-storey megaliths, proudly watching as your wake breaks against the banks? Some narrowboats are an exception and create little disturbance, but not all. The 8km/hr speed limit is apparently a target that most boats try to match or exceed.
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8 hours ago, Thames Bhaji said:
Seems possible that a higher voltage could be heating the water slightly quicker, but the thermostat would be cutting in and out at the same temperatures. Is the timer on for long enough for it to get up to temperature and the thermostat cut out?
230v is the "norm" for mains supplies in the UK. However the voltage measured at the consumer unit or fuse box will always be less than the voltage measured at the outgoing supply from the local substation. In extreme circumstances this can be significant.
When I was working in Oman several of the air-conditioning units overheated and failed. We measured the incoming at 270V. This was because we were next to the substation and the electricity company had done its best to maintain a reasonable voltage for some new properties that were a long way from the substation.
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2 hours ago, RebeccaM said:
" Oi !!! Sod Off !! "
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8 hours ago, John Liley said:
I agree with much of what you say ( though I do not get the issues of water supply that you earlier quoted). I simply suggest that when possibilities of freight by water arise that they should be pressed. The Aire & Calder contract for washed sand presents just such an opportunity.
To quote the late Robert Aickman, whom I knew, disliked on various grounds, but admired, nonetheless:
"I abhor the concept of waterways being largely obsolete but fun to play about with. I believe it to be not only unworthy but unworkable."
We move into emotional territory here, but, with the ongoing crisis in C&RT's finances, let alone the looming disaster of global warming, could he not be right? The Aire & Calder scheme presents a chance, by association, for our waterway system to gather purpose and thereby esteem. In terms of public perception it would help enormously if news of what goes on in the Netherlands, Belgium or France (by no means as far away as Mars) should be spread around by those of us who can.
The Aire & Calder meanwhile, after it burst its bank late last year, was left piled off, for four whole months, before repairs even began. Scarcely a pinnacle of zest. I know what Robert Aickman would have said. Very publicly too.
,Oi !! This Fred is s'posed to about wot is NICE on the waterways now.
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- Popular Post
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My wife sadly passed away after a short illness a month ago and her last comprehensible words to me were "you are not staying in this house - you will rattle around in it and you won't look after it".
so I bought a ground floor apartment in the housing development surrounding Abingdon-on-Thames marina. Sale completed on 30 June (just in time to benefit from the stamp duty holiday) and started to move my kit in yesterday. The boat will follow when our big house is finally sold (asking price offer was accepted even before the estate agent could put it on the market!).
The view from my back door:
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8 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:
If you throw your used tea bags into the tank, eventually the tannic acid will stop the rust and all you have to do is boil the water to brew up saving all that tea mined in the Yorkshire mines.
yeah but - if you are a liveaboard and do that regularly you will end up talking with a funny accent. Apparently it affects the vocal chords and you end up sounding like a yorkie playing the rhythm guitar.
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19 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:
C&RT say electric boats are slow
Notice Alert
Grand Union CanalLocation: Blisworth Tunnel - Grand Union CanalStarts At: Blisworth Tunnel North PortalEnds At: Blisworth Tunnel South PortalTuesday 22 June 2021 08:00 until Tuesday 22 June 2021 09:30
Type: Advice Reason: Information
Original message: An electric wide beam will be going through Blisworth Tunnel on the 22nd June.
As it is an electric boat, it will take longer then normal and so other boaters will not be allowed passage through the tunnel between 8am and 9:30am.
Please follow advice on site.
it's actually a 50tonne work barge 13ft wide powered by a trolling motor.
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3 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:
I must be doing it wrong. Whenever I specify a boat length in Waterside, it completely ignores it and I get a listing of vacancies for 23ft and other little ones which would be a tight fit for my 60ft.
you're obviously not trying hard enough
........................ oh, and stop bragging about the length of your wotsit. 23ft would do me and the missus just fine.
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yeah but -
.... why don't we have a gas pipe running along the busy parts of London's canals, with branch connections (and moveable steps over the pipe) every 25m where gas can be tapped off for the poor liveaboards? Similar thing for 240V? The gas pipe could double as a handrail to save poor drunks returning to their boats from falling in.
.... and huge widebeam storage boats that can be called up to deliver your stored clothing on demand? same thing for fuel boats and sewage collection boats?
CRT really hasn't thought this out. If they withdrew the 14 day rule and allowed boats to remain in place they could charge a small fortune for moorings and utilities. It would also free up most of the system from having to cater for boaters who are foolish enough to want to "cruise" along the system. Good news all round IMHO.
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1 hour ago, Naughty Cal said:
Yes
I am about to complete on my purchase of a Thames-side marina apartment (Abingdon).
I don't understand how a houseboat or live-aboard can be described as "riverside" unless the boat is lifted out and set on the towpath. Rubbish journalese taught in second rate colleges teaching the Use of English (like wot I did for S-level in 1963).
2 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:Shouldn't the title be landside living? If you are on a boat, then being on the riverside is actually a bad thing.
OWWW !!!!
Weed Hatch Prop Fouls
in General Boating
Posted · Edited by Murflynn
just to clarify - that is not an angle grinder fit - specifically it fits an ordinary rotary tool with a chuck.
..... oh, and you don't need to buy two of them.